Best Practices for a Marine Information Management Website IOC, IODE OceanTeacher Academy Workshop, June 15-26, 2009 Oostende, Belgium Linda Pikula U.S.National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Library
Transcript
Slide 1
IOC, IODE OceanTeacher Academy Workshop, June 15-26, 2009
Oostende, Belgium Linda Pikula U. S.National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration Library
Slide 2
Web Policies: Does your lab have them ? NOAA Web Policies
http://www.cio.noaa.gov/webpolicies.html Your Institution Web
Policies-Class Discussion
Slide 3
Digital Services Policy
Slide 4
Example of a good MIM website-why is this good?
http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov/library.jsp
Slide 5
Another Style: http://www.wrclib.noaa.gov
Slide 6
Basic Needs In Any Website Summary Though there are a growing
number of ways and means of contacting users and showing the
librarys services, the library website should always be the main
starting-point for searches and the one virtual entrance to the
library. The main criteria for quality of a library website can be
summarized thus: Adequate language (to the population) Clear
structure Options for different user groups All information
up-to-date Short, concise information The most important issue is
probably, that the website, especially the homepage, should guide
by the shortest possible way to the most-used information: Users
follow the line of minimum effort.
Slide 7
Concept to Design Mission User Needs Content Outline Design
Creativity
Slide 8
Web Development:Wikipedia Web development is a broad term for
any activity related to developing a web site for the World Wide
Web or an intranet. This can include e-commerce business
development, web design, web content development,
client-side/server-side scripting, and web server configuration.
However, among web professionals, "web development" usually refers
only to the non-design aspects of building web sites, e.g. writing
markup and coding. Web development can range from developing the
simplest static single page of plain text to the most complex
web-based internet applications, electronic businesses, or social
network services.web siteWorld Wide Webintranete-commercebusiness
developmentweb designweb content
developmentclient-sideserver-sidescriptingweb
servermarkupcodingplain textinternet applicationselectronic
businesses social network services For larger businesses and
organizations, web development teams can consist of hundreds of
people (web developers). Smaller organizations may only require a
single permanent or contracting webmaster, or secondary assignment
to related job positions such as a graphic designer and/or
Information systems technician. Web development may be a
collaborative effort between departments rather than the domain of
a designated department.web developerswebmastergraphic
designerInformation systems
Slide 9
Wireframes:Wikipedia A wireframe (also "web wire frame", "web
wireframe", "web wireframing") is a basic visual guide used in
interface design to suggest the structure of an interface and
relationships between its pages. Typically, wireframes are
completed before any artwork is developed.visual guide interface
design http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website_wireframe Uses of
Wireframes Tools to create Wireframes
Slide 10
Slide 11
What is the Mission of Your Lab/Institute? What does your lab
do? Study oceanography?fisheries?conduct science education seminars
for the general public? Seminars for students-at what
level-graduate school, high-school, Science seminars for government
officials? The general public? Does the lab have a stated Mission?
Does your library Mission and Goals correspond to the
Lab/Institutes? What are these goals? Does your library statement,
collection correspond? Is this reflected in the summary of your
library on your library homepage?
Slide 12
User Needs Think about what your users will be looking for on
your library website? Are they looking for the address of your
library? Staff? Subject special collection?
Books?Journals?Publications? Reference questions? Contacts for
Reference, Interlibrary Loan?
Slide 13
Content Outline What will you include in your marine library
website? How will you organize the contents of your website? For
your own needs as a webmaster?(interior) How will you organize the
content online for the users? (exterior)
Slide 14
Design-Creativity-Technique What creative techniques will you
use to develop your website? Examples from last weeks lectures
Class input????
Slide 15
Creativity-Web 2.0 Design Creativity Technique what can web 2.0
add? When libraries speak of offering web 2.0 services, they
generally mean that they make use of social software for offering
new services or old services in a new form. Social software enables
people to rendezvous, connect or collaborate through
computer-mediated communication. They are often used inside
organisations or by communities of practice/interest.18 Social
software allows users to participate in a website; they can add and
rate items and cooperate with others that have the same interests.
Social software is in most cases available free on the web. An
overview of libraries using social software can be found in the
wiki Library success.19 The most-used social software in libraries
is either weblogs or wikis.
Slide 16
Weblogs or blogs are websites with the following criteria : The
items on the website are placed in chronological order (newest item
first). The website is usually actualised daily. The website
contains many links. It offers an archive and search function. It
offers subscription services with RSS (or another) protocol,
usually called feed. Most weblogs are organized in categories. The
most important issue: The weblog offers a comment function. Users
can add comments to the items. Libraries use weblogs for the
following purposes: News of the library: News are offered in
chronological order, with a comment function. Experience shows that
not many users add comments to library news. Library news for
special user groups, e.g. stuff for teens. News in a specified
subject: Libraries show recent developments or interesting new
sources, e.g. for students of medicine or for people interested in
local history. Online calendars for events, not only in the
library, but in its institution or in a special subject Accession
lists of the library, organized as to subjects. Weblogs have also
been used for surveying users as to specified questions, e.g.
asking for user opinion about a new service. The advantage of
weblogs is that users can comment directly and can subscribe to the
site. But on the other side, users might not wish to get continuous
information from the library. A solution can be to use a feed
reader that collects new information from different sources the
user has subscribed to and allows to browse it at any time.
Slide 17
WIKIS Wikis are also collaborative websites that can be changed
by anybody who has access to them. Wikis can have any structure or
subject. Libraries use wikis for many purposes, for instance for:
Materials for courses in schools or universities, prepared by
teaching staff together with the library Materials for special
research subjects, where members of the research group add and
comment Materials for a project (e.g. exhibition) where users can
e.g. add personal material (photos, diaries) An example would be a
public library digitising its material on the history of the
community during World War II and offering it on a wiki where the
inhabitants of the community can add their own experiences or
documents. The advantage of a wiki is certainly that more people
get involved in a topic and that thus more ideas and more material
may be collected. But if the topic concerns a broad public, the
wiki may be liable to corruption or information noise, superfluous
information. As in every kind of teamwork, probably after some time
some person/s should be responsible for the contents.
Slide 18
Social BookMarking Social bookmarking is another software that
may be interesting for libraries. On a social bookmarking system,
users store lists of Internet resources that they finduseful. Other
users with similar interests can view the links. The services allow
adding, rating, commenting, tagging. Tagging means adding
user-defined descriptors (tags) to the resources. Libraries use
social bookmarking for collecting relevant resources for courses
and classes in schools or universities, for showing relevant
sources connected to an event or exhibition, for all kinds of
special subjects. Again, everybody who has access to the system can
add resources and rate or tag resources and thus share experiences
with others. A problem is that there are no standards for
descriptors or tags, and that the personal view of one user may not
interest others.
Slide 19
Podcasting Podcasts assemble audio and/or video files at a web
feed address. People can subscribe to this feed so that new items
will be downloaded to their computer. Podcasts are apparently not
as popular in libraries as other social software. Examples of
libraries using podcasts can be found on the Library Success
wiki,20 additional material about podcasting in libraries on the
Davidfree-wiki.21 Libraries use podcasting for varying purposes:
audio/video recordings of library tours, audio instructions for
using library services and resources, library news in audio form,
materials for courses and classes, e.g. for music classes,
audio/video recordings of university lectures that students can
play back at their leisure, audio/video materials for special
research subjects.
Slide 20
Podcasting Example: National Public Radio on E-books:
http://www.libraryspot.com/podcast/othercasts.htm
Slide 21
Podcasts Screenshot
Slide 22
Goals The main goal for libraries when using social software is
to enlarge the communication with their users, to make users
participate in library services by adding, rating and commenting.
Other reasons can be to reach users in new ways, to make the
library look up-to-date.
Slide 23
Disadvantages of Social Software But when making use of social
software for presenting information, libraries should bear in mind
that there is a growing aversion to still more and more information
channels. People are afraid of information overload and refuse to
subscribe to feeds. Unified messaging and one-stop-shopping are
certainly preferred. Social software offers several problems:
Opening the system to general participation will often lead to more
noise, superfluous information. Cooperative work may affect
precision and quality of the information. Using social software
will be interesting for libraries, if it attracts users that cannot
be reached in other ways, furthers effective communication or helps
to collect additional information that the library could not have
offered by itself.
Slide 24
Summary Though there is a growing number of ways and means of
contacting users and showing the librarys services, the library
website should always be the main starting-point for searches and
the one virtual entrance to the library. The main criteria for
quality of a library website can be summarized thus: Adequate
language (to the population) Clear structure Options for different
user groups All information up-to-date Short, concise information
The most important issue is probably, that the website, especially
the homepage, should guide by the shortest possible way to the
most-used information: Users follow the line of minimum
effort.
Slide 25
Example of Virtual Tour of an Atmospheric Library
http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/index.htm
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/nhctour.shtml Another Library Example:
Southampton Solent University, Library tour. Provides a pictorial
route round the Library. They also have an and online video called
More than words.Library tour.More than words
http://portal-live.solent.ac.uk/library/library_tours/library_tour/library_tour.aspx
How to create a Virtual Tour Equipment Needed: There are many
private companies that can assist your Library in creating a
virtual tour, undertake a Google search and you will discover there
are lots! Alternatively you can create one yourself using software
such as Easypano TourWeaver and open source software such as
Mapwing, Chara banc or JATC. MapwingChara banc JATC
Slide 31
RSS Feeds All about RSS Feeds, what they are and how to create
them http://webdesign.about.com/od/rss/a/what_is_rss.htm
Slide 32
Virtual Library Tours:
Slide 33
Example of an RSS Feed in a Marine Information Library NOAA
Miami Regional Library at the Atmospheric and Oceanographic and
Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) a branch of the NOAA Central
Library NODC, LISD http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/
Slide 34
Slide 35
Slide 36
Example of a Small NOAA Library Webpage
Slide 37
Slide 38
Another Style: http://www.wrclib.noaa.gov
Slide 39
Best Practices Bibliography: Hunt, Fiona and Jane Birks.Best
practices in information literacy. Portal: Libraries and the
Acadmey 4, no.1 (2004): 27-39 Tancheva, Kornelia. Online tutorials
for library instruction: an ongoing project under constant
revision. Paper presented at the ACRL Eleventh National Conference,
Charlotte, NC, 10-23 April 2003.
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlevents/tancheva.PDF
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlevents/tancheva.PDF